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15. Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The Forge - 1 hours
As additional sidequest The Forge is okay, but as standalone DLC? It's not worth it, especially for a full price. Just 1 crypt, 1 tomb, 1 outfit, and 1 new skill, all for 1 hour of the gameplay. The storyline is nothing special and focused on the past of the new character no one cares about. The main problem of this DLC is the fact that if you finished the main game on 100% already, there is no point in getting it separately from Season Pass. It's a fine addition if you like the original game and want some more tomb raiding, but you won't return to the game only to play this DLC, there is no value in that. You won't be able to use many rewards that you get for completion of this DLC if you already finished the game, so if you just started playing SotTR and enjoying it, get the season pass as soon as possible.

My Kingdom Hearts marathon continues! I had played this game 2-3 times before, it's pretty low on my list of KH games but I had to continue my crusade of getting all platinum trophies regardless. It's also easily the worst platinum trophy because having to drop constantly hoping to get all the portals you need is much more tedious than say, playing every Command Board in BBS on all three characters. It's also some of the worst combat in the series, bosses are entirely forgettable and they don't have hit stun. This was also my first time beating DDD on Critical. In hindsight, writing this after playing KHIII, the story placated fans for years in anticipation for KHIII but now stands as a pointless entry.

2. Oxenfree (Switch) | 16th Jan - 6hrs | 4/5

I remember being shaken by how characters interrupt each other when they talk, but I came to really like it since it kind of felt more natural. I love everything about the aesthetic, I remember being enamored with it when trailers first dropped and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to it. I love that there's an ARG associated with this. I love how this game starts out familiar but becomes eerie. The one thing that I don't love about this game is the walking speed, it's the one thing that prevented me from being a completionist with this game and what's prevented me from revisiting it to get different endings.

3. Kuso (Switch) | 17th Jan - 2hrs | 4/5

Hey shouts out to Fred Wood, this game is awesome! It's just a real solid platformer with no bells and whistles. It also includes remixes of levels from his other game, Love, which I also hadn't played so that was a welcome surprise. It's gone on sale for $2 a few times, but it's totally worth the full price too. Absolutely worth it as a refresher between bigger games.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (3DS) | 18th Jan - 21hrs | 4/5

Been playing this on and off for months, I had always been put off by the art style of this game but once I actually dove in, it's become one of my favorite 2D Zelda titles. Jumping between two different versions of the map is pretty fun, it's no Link to the Past but it still does some pretty interesting stuff. I'm already half way through Oracle of Seasons as I'm writing this and it's making me so nostalgic about older handheld games' interactivity with each other.

5. PaRappa the Rapper (PS4) | 26th Jan - 3hrs | 3/5

I really wanted to like this game more, but the timing is just too tight. I had to pivot my mindset from playing this game as a timewaster to something I needed to take seriously before I could actually beat it. The absolutely worst part of the game is the last level where you just cannot beat it without failing it and memorizing the note track. I still like the aesthetic a lot though, I'll get to its related titles at some point.

6. Amplitude (PS4) | 27th Jan - 5hrs | 4/5

I was really surprised by how many songs I recognized in this game! If you enjoy Mega64, there's a few surprises in here. I really miss Harmonix games, this was a thrill to experience and I wish this game had DLC. Similar to the previous game, I'm really annoyed by how the last level is really hard to play because of visual distortions.

7. Strike Vector EX (PS4) | 28th Jan - 4hrs | 3/5

I don't play many dog fighting games but this one was pretty okay. It didn't leave much of a lasting impression but I enjoyed it enough. Hovering and strafing are pretty different. Boy this story is bad, your character switches sides between like 4 factions pretty much every other chapter.

You can really feel that Nomura doesn't like the story he set up and wants to move on to the next chapter of Kingdom Hearts. I am really fanatic about Kingdom Hearts and I'm not really compelled to dive much into KHIII's lore or anything. It's one of the most straightforward games in the series in my opinion - seriously, this might be the only game in the franchise to not introduce new characters. Gameplay was way too easy for me, critical doesn't feel deep enough for me (yet a bit tedious like DDD too), new gummi ship stuff is fun, I wish there were more combat challenges (secret bosses/colosseum). This game was never going to satisfy everyone but I love it nonetheless because almost all my children are here and happy. I need to know what the Re:Memory DLC is! It's so weird being in a post-KHIII world with no concrete upcoming game announced (KHUX content be damned).

9. Titanfall 2 (PS4) | 11th Feb - 10hrs | 5/5

Oops, I played Titanfall 2 again. How could I not after Apex Legends dropped? This time I played the campaign again on the hardest difficulty, where I tried to run away from as many fights as possible. I also got really close to getting the platinum trophy! I just need to shave 2 more seconds off my gauntlet time.

Ahhh, I love this game so much! I was laughing the entire time I was playing this with friends, my cheeks were hurting and I have trouble breathing and was told to keep my laughter down several times. I wish I could get together with friends more often to play this but alas being an adult makes it difficult.

11. Surgeon Simulator (PSVR) | 3rd Mar - 5hrs | 5/5

Convinced some inebriated friends to play this previous night but I had to try it for myself after. And then I just kept going, now I'm a master surgeon! I actually didn't know it was just the same five operations in different settings, I'm surprised this game has been around as long as it has with so many versions but hasn't added more content in all this time.

12. Voltron VR Chroniclesn (PSVR) | 5th Mar - 2hrs | 2/5

Hey Voltron's cool. Need to watch more of the modern show. I've played enough VR games that this really wasn't interesting anymore. It's just really short with a puzzle segment, three rail shooting segments, and a boss fight.

13. Tetris 99 (Switch) | 13th Mar - 15hrs | 5/5

This game has made me a better Tetris player! I had to learn how to do 3-wide setups and simple t-spins and I ended up winning 7 games before putting it down. I even went back to Tetris Effect and improved my high scores! I can't imagine I'd win any games now that the player based has dropped off a bit and only hardcore players are on now but I am very fond of Tetris 99 and hope Nintendo attempts more similar experiences.

14. Hitman 2016 (PS4) | 19th Mar - 40hrs | 5/5

I don't know why I bounced off this game so hard the first time I tried it years ago because I'm totally hooked on these games now. There was no map I truly didn't enjoy but I prefer the more lively stages, the more military centric ones being a bit more of a slog to get all the trophies. This game just scratches my completionist's itch so perfectly. I love doing all the different types of runs, it's almost more of a puzzle game than a stealth game. A bit bummed out I missed out on Elusive Targets but I'm playing Hitman 2 now so it's somewhat fine.

15. Sanrio Characters Picross (3DS) | 21st Mar - 28hrs | 4/5

My Picross addiction must be fed! So similar to Kemono Friends Picross, this game has a problem with feeling a bit samey since most of the puzzles are faces. Otherwise, it's good ol' Picross, no complaints. Nothing new either.

16. Burnout Paradise Remastered (PS4) | 29th Mar - 34hrs | 5/5

I really wish I had played this when multiplayer was more active. I really miss this kind of non-cartoony but arcadey racing game, I haven't played many racing games in recent years because they became so much more obsessed with being realistic. I was really hesitant about the whole open world aspect at first but then I got to bask in the glory of the map's design philosophy of letting you drive non-stop and I was hooked. Now I get the hype, now I want a successor. I don't like the DLC, Big Surf Island, that much but Mega Jumps are fun. Maybe I'll go back and clean up more trophies at some point.

I was at a low point, I wanted a puzzle game. I thought the concept of being like Minesweeper and Picross would have been neat but it turns out this game is way too simple. It's not bespoke either, the levels are randomized but you can also brute force your way through the game fairly easily.

18. BoxBoy! (3DS) | 23rd Apr - 11hrs | 5/5

Now this is a puzzle game! It took me a while to get into the mindset this game asked of me but I was up-hooked and ended up getting every BoxBoy game and beating it just in time for the BoxBoy! + BoxGirl! release. Perfecting runs by using as few boxes as possible is such a satisfying experience. I highly recommend this game.

19. BoxBoxBoy! (3DS) | 27th Apr - 9hrs | 5/5

In the previous game, I really enjoyed the challenge levels and they made the entire sequel based on those abilities! All of the puzzles in this game now involve using two sets of boxes, but if I remember correctly this game also has the least amount of extra challenges in the original trilogy. Also all of your costume unlocks from the first game transfer to this game! Still, fantastic game, still highly recommend.

20. Bye-Bye BoxBoy! (3DS) | 29th Apr - 8hrs | 5/5

All the costumes from the last two games get transferred here too! This is the most difficult game in the series, it introduces a bunch of new abilities and I often found myself stuck. Truth be told, my playtime would be much higher if I hadn't cheated and looked up answers because this game is full of headscratchers. I also found out the BoxBoy amiibo is one of the most rare ones out there and I must have it. Recommend recommend recommend.

My fascination with this franchise continues, blessed be HAL Laboratories. This game has the most content in the series with three entirely different campaigns. The single player campaign was solid, the co-op campaign was surprisingly doable as a single player, and the tall boy campaign was a great way to mix up the gameplay. I wish this game had more challenge levels after beating each of the campaigns, but that might just be because I just marathoned all the previous games in one week.

22. Picross S3 (Switch) | 17th May - 35 hrs | 5/5

My Picross addiction must be fed further! If it's a Picross game by Jupiter, I'm automatically in. The new Color Picross levels are great but there needed to be much more than 30 of them. I remember being a bit disappointed in the first S game but I'm pretty happy with how this has expanded on it.

23. Donut County (Switch) | 18th May - 3hrs | 5/5

This game is so cute and relaxing, I want more! Near the end the game added a new mechanic that was a lot of fun for puzzle solving. I was expecting the game to introduce more but it never happened, which is fine. The story didn't overstay its welcome, I just want more locales and levels, I want to see more of this world.

24. Gorogoa (Switch) | 18th May - 3hrs | 5/5

I might be too dumb for this game. It's gorgeous, it's mind boggling, it's... probably deep and entirely going over my head? It's so hard to explain this game, it's reminds me of the way echochrome messes with my brain. It's also like a deeply interactive comic that has no words but speaks many stories. I also got quite stumped a few times because this is still essentially a puzzle game. I gush over a lot of games but I'm having such a hard time finding a comparison to this.

25. Monster Hunter World (PS4) | 22nd May - 224hrs | 5/5

I'm so bad at this game~! I put in 224 hours into this game before getting past HR50, I must be the worst monster hunter of all time haha. Truth be told, I wasted a lot of time doing things I didn't need to. I did a lot of event quests, I made a lot of armor as a completionist in low rank, I also just idle a lot in this game because I love the music and I have windows open doing research. I started out using long sword a lot but I eventually went to charge blade and never looked back - except for when I'm lazy and use Bow. I'm not entirely sure how deep I'll get into decorations and augments and tempered beasts, but I still really enjoy hunting, I still want to collect every piece of armor, and I cannot wait for the Iceborne expansion!

16. Yakuza Kiwami - 32 hours
Yakuza Kiwami - almost literal remake of the very game in this Japanese series, made on the same engine as Yakuza 0. I knew about this beforehand so I started playing it with realistic expectations, yet in the end, Kiwami left me with mixed impressions. Despite improved graphics, it's still the same 2005 game from PS2 at its heart and of course, it's lacking in comparison to the brilliance of released in 2015 prequel that was 6th in the series.

The story of Yakuza Kiwami starts almost after the same moment where you left in Yakuza 0 - Kiryu returned to Tojo Clan and preparing to start his own yakuza family, but everything going to shit after his sworn brother Nishiki kills his boss and Kiryu decides to save him from the prison and take all the blame for murder. After getting a release from his 10-year sentence, Kiryu finds his clan in disarray because of the disappearance of 10 billion yen and murder of their leader, chairman Sera, and also learn that Nishki started his own family and apparently lost his goddamn mind in his pursuit for power. Unlike Yakuza 0, the story in Kiwami is not that exciting and unexpected, everything more or less predictable, cutscenes and fights direction are not as mindblowing, and the main villain is kinda weak and cliche with his "I'll become a ruler of the whole Japan!". Yes, it was like that in the original game, but still, the quality drop is too noticeable and it can't be helped.

Gameplay in Kiwami is pretty typical for this series, it's a mix of 3rd person beat 'em up with RPG parts, compact but detailed open world and a huge amount of side activities like minigames and substories. It's still fun to run around the city and look for adventures on your ass, but because of not very strong storyline it became more clear that some of those activities can be really repetitive and tedious, and even story missions can go into boring "run from point A to point B and talk with someone" scheme. But overall, Yakuza formula still works as intended and you can easily forget about time and play Kiwami through the entire evening without notice. Graphics remained the same compared to Yakuza 0, even TOO same, the game looks quite decent by modern standards, but not without weak moments like some of non-important NPC models. Story cutscenes recreated on the new engine with impressive attention to details, while playing Kiwami I was also watching on Youtube walkthrough of the original Yakuza game from PS2 and I can confirm that cutscenes are almost identical.

But despite the fact that there is not much difference comparing to the original Yakuza, not all additions that were made in Kiwami improved the game. First of all, I didn't like what they've done with the fighting system, they took it from Yakuza 0 and made it more confusing. In the original game, there was 1 fight style and 3 stat bars, you could spend gained experience points and gain new abilities and improve your health after every level up. In Kiwami they tried to take 3 fight styles from Y0 and attach them to that old 3 stat bar references, but instead of making it simple they randomly put abilities from all 3 fight styles and passive effects like health and heat gauge improvements in 3 skill trees. This lead to a confusing mess we have in Kiwami, where if you want to focus only on one fight style or find some specific skill you need to spend a lot of time to go through all 3 skill trees and carefully plan what is important to get as fast as possible and what you'll probably never use. The fact is, most of those skills are way too specific and can be used on really rare occasions, but you'll still have to buy them in order to get access for stuff you really need.

Also, they decided to add another skill tree for the 4th fight style that supposed to be a mix of all 3 fight styles (again, just like in Yakuza 0), but it was decided to tie progression in this skill tree to your relations with Majima, one of the protagonists of the prequel. And here is where developers went too far because those relations can only be improved after you beat Majima ass each time he surprise attacks you at the city - and you have to fight him DOZENS of times. Yes, you can avoid those conflicts most of the time, but there is a catch - in remake there were also added "finishers" for boss fights, at some moment during the battle boss can stop fighting and start to glow with specific color, and if you won't be quick and activate finisher of relevant to color fight style, then boss will recover a lot of health. And while you can quickly unlock those finishers for 3 regular styles, in order to unlock it for the 4th style you need beat Majima for at least 100+ fights, and this is insanely tedious and time-consuming. And you won't even need this finisher except for last 2 boss battles - but developers forgot to warn about this and without having this finisher move unlocked difficulty of those boss battles unexpectedly increases. It's disappointing that instead of simply adding some depth to Majima character (he had a very limited appearance in the original game) they decided to tie him to such dull grind mechanics and turned meetings with him into the annoying obligation.

Of course, there are positives change in Kiwami as well. The best improvement compared to the original game is extended backstory of Nishiki, they added tons of flashbacks about what happened to him after Kiryu arrest and how gone mad, and it really adds depth to his character. Though without playing prequel it's still could have been hard to care about old characters like Reina or Dojima. Another positive change is (finally!) ability to save almost anywhere and the addition of autosaves. I also really like a dedicated button to hide HUD (though still no proper photomode), but it won't be useful for everyone.

Yakuza Kiwami in really unlucky position because there is such outstading prequel nearby - no matter how you try, but it's impossible to review this game without looking at Yakuza 0. Despite being the first game in the franchise, it's really not the best starting point to start learning about Yakuza series - you simply won't understand why there is so much hype around these games and why people love them so much. But even if you played Yakuza 0 already, you also need to be careful and temper your expectations, because you can be disappointed that this remake is not as amazing as a prequel. Yakuza Kiwami feels more like big DLC to Y0, rather than a separate game, and this is how you need to approach it. It's not right to skip it completely either, because while story here is not amazing, but it still has some bright moments and important for understanding next mainline Yakuza games.

In conclusion, I want to recommend everyone who still hasn't played any Yakuza game to just stop loafing and play Yakuza 0 already. Every awesome person who already played Yakuza 0 just need to always remember that this is just a remake of the old game and you probably need to wait for a sale. For the old fans of this series who played all Yakuza games on consoles I only can say that port quality is much better than it was in case of Yakuza 0 PC release, it's not requiring top hardware to get decent performance and I haven't seen any major game-breaking glitches and bugs during my walkthrough.

Finally got to reply this game to completion. It's a pretty solid shooting game, though I would've liked for it to be shorter, as the final stretch of the game didn't entertain me as much as the early parts.

Steamworld is an interesting series but I think it's missing something in the writing component. There's a genuinely cool and interesting mythos to this series that it never really capitalizes on due to the subpar writing, which makes genuinely emotional moments fall flat.

As for the gameplay it's a fun little mix of Dig Dug and Metroid that never gets boring, and the gameplay loop of finding jewels underground and returning to town is slippery sleek and surprisingly addictive.

Finally got around to playing another game I've had for years :P
This is a pretty solid 2D Action game, though some of the grappling sections were annoying since I need to hold Up+Forward, and I tend to accidentally have Spencer sling forward instead of wanting to go up to a ledge.